The first Thomas Carvel Country Club Golf tournament challenged some of the area's best amateur golfers on one of the more difficult golf courses in the Northeast. The winner, Eric Easton of Poughkeepsie, birdied the second playoff hole to defeat Vinnie Vicca of White Plains, who he had tied with at five over par. The tournament attracted golfers with a handicap of ten or less and tested their mental toughness with long fairways, false fronts on approaches to tricky greens, and elevation changes across the hilly course known for being a "bear" to play.

1. Article ran in the Register Herald, Pine Plains, N.Y. September 2, 2004
Front Page Section II - Carvel Golf Tournament challenges the best
Carvel Golf Tournament challenges the best
By Andrew Ciccone
Special to the Taconic Press
On Aug. 28, the first Thomas Carvel Country Club Golf tournament
courted the area’s best golfers on one of the more challenging golf
courses in the Northeast as the level of play complimented the
course.
Competition was fierce. The winner was decided in a playoff match as
Eric Easton of Poughkeepsie and Vinnie Vicca of White Plains, each
tied with a 76, five over par. In the playoff Easton birdied the
second hole for the win. Easton, outplayed some of the area’s best
on this hot sticky Saturday afternoon. Easton recently finished
third at the Dutchess County tourney. Third place winner Scott
Ciferri of Millbrook shot a 77.
The club is named after the courses benefactor, entrepreneur Tom
Carvel, who after borrowing $15 from his future wife started selling
ice cream from the back of his truck that is now a nation wide
franchise. The Carvel Golf Course is a treat for those who love this
game, providing players with a premiere golf course with fees that
are quite reasonable. Tom Carvel was fond of saying that his course
“is the great equalizer”.
The Carvel Challenge attracted some of the area’s best amateurs. A
handicap of ten or less was required to participate.
Club golf pro Brad Davis about the course and the tournament. 11 of
the eighteen holes are 400 feet plus from the blue tees, but if that
isn’t daunting enough there is the wind that makes some of the
fairways even longer. The wind is usually a factor most days on some
of the fairways at Carvel.
Davis noted why Carvel is “not very forgiving”. As you line up your
approach to the green, a third of the holes at Carvel have “false
fronts” that can fool a golfer into thinking that the green is closer
that it actually is, testing a player’s “mental toughness”.
Davis also noted that the greens are “fast and difficult” and can
cost golfers a stroke or two, not to mention the elevation changes on
some of the shorter holes, adding to the course’s respectable
reputation for being a “bear of a course”.
First Prize included a rather impressive cut glass crystal ball
trophy along with a $300 gift certificate to the Carvel Pro Shop.
Second and third prizes were crystal trophies with $200 and $100 gift
certificates to the pro shop.